Electronic Frontier Foundation

Support Bloggers' Rights!

You may have noticed the new banner in the sidebar. (If you're reading in Bloglines, go check it out -- it's really cool!) Clicking on it will take you to the Electronic Frontier Foundation's legal guide to blogging. I urge everyone, especially anonymous bloggers, to check it out. Especially noteworthy, given what went down recently at Bitch Ph.D.'s site, is the Blogger's FAQ on Online Defamation Law.

What is the EFF? Here's the first paragraph from their "About" page:

From the Internet to the iPod, technologies of freedom are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. These technologies are increasingly under attack, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense, protecting our civil liberties in the networked world. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990—well before the Internet was on most people's radar—and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.

Whether or not you join or donate -- click on the button above to take you to the membership page -- you should visit the site and learn about your rights, about how to protect your anonymity, and about the work EFF does.

You can also get cool buttons and banners like I did. I particularly like the WWII themed one I picked for the sidebar, since it also happens to nod to the importance of women's labor in that era and to the significance of women and feminist bloggers. The patriotic theme of many of their banners is a reference to their opposition to the so-called "Patriot Act." Posting a button on your sight will also get you a discounted membership to EFF, btw.

Thanks to apophenia for alerting me to this.